One of the joys of living in a rural area is the opportunity to recognize and highlight the outstanding people that make Fremont County great. During Tuesday’s meeting, county commissioners Debbie Bell, Dwayne McFall, and Kevin Grantham had that exact opportunity.
On Wednesday, May 29, one of Fremont County’s Department of Transportation road crews was performing graveling and maintenance operations on Oak Creek Grade when, low and behold, a rising tower of smoke was spotted on the horizon.
“Ol’ eagle-eyed Dale [Johnson] saw it from a distance,” said assistant supervisor Gerry Buser. “We wouldn’t have been able to see it from where we were.”
“We weren’t sure if it was an accident or a wreck [when Dale called on the radio],” equipment operator Ron Blanchard added. “So I ran up the hill with my road-grader.”
At approximately mile marker 7, Blanchard and Buser discovered a United States Postal Service truck that had caught fire and was rapidly being devoured by the blaze. The driver, maintenance worker Scott Nachreiner, had gotten clear of the billowing flames and smoke but was at a loss for what to do next.